The present invention relates generally to the mooring of small boats at docking structures and pertains, more specifically, to a mooring whip mounting base enabling selective movement of a mooring whip between a mooring position and a retracted position, with positive stops determining both the mooring position and the retracted position of the mooring whip.
Mooring whips have found widespread use in the mooring of boats where it is desired to secure a boat to a boat dock or another docking structure while maintaining the boat spaced away from the dock a relatively short distance so as to protect against marring or otherwise damaging the hull of the boat as a result of rubbing or bumping against the dock. In a typical mooring whip installation, a mooring whip is mounted on a boat dock, a mooring line is attached between a boat and the tip of the mooring whip, and the mooring whip is placed in a mooring position wherein the mooring whip is flexed into a bowed configuration to bias the boat away from the dock and thereby protect the hull of the boat against damage from rubbing or bumping against the dock.
When it is desired to bring the moored boat to the dock for boarding, the mooring line is released from the mooring whip, allowing the boat to be moved freely to the dock for boarding. The mooring whip itself is raised so as to move the mooring whip to a retracted position, allowing free access to the boat and facilitating subsequent departure of the boat from the dock. Ordinarily, the mooring whip is biased resiliently toward the retracted position by a biasing mechanism in the mounting base which mounts the mooring whip to the dock, and movement to the mooring position tends to bow the mooring whip and thus xe2x80x9cloadxe2x80x9d the mooring whip with a force sufficient to maintain the boat moored at a safe distance from the dock. When released from the boat, the mooring whip is moved to and maintained in the retracted position by the biasing force of the resilient biasing mechanism.
The present invention provides a mooring whip mounting base which enables movement between a mooring position determined by a first positive stop and a retracted position determined by a second positive stop, the positive positions attaining improved performance without the use of a resilient biasing arrangement, and wherein positioning of the mooring whip in either the mooring position or the retracted position is facilitated. As such, the present invention attains several objects and advantages, some of which are summarized as follows: Facilitates and simplifies the selective placement and retention of a mooring whip in either a mooring position or a retracted position; places a mooring whip in a mooring position which enables a more effective biasing of a boat away from a dock, and in a retracted position which provides ready access to the boat for boarding and better makes way for departure of the boat from the dock; allows the use of a shorter mooring whip with increased strength positioned to provide biasing forces sufficient to perform effectively with larger boats, as well as with smaller boats; enables a positive placement of a mooring whip in a selectively adjustable mooring position or retracted position for optimum performance in a variety of installations; enhances the operation and simplifies the use of mooring whips in connection with a wider range of boats and docking structures; enables increased safety in the use of mooring whips, thereby promoting safer use of boats; allows better protection of a wider variety and range of sizes of boats moored at docking structures, together with increased ease of boarding and departure; provides a mooring whip base of simplified construction for economical manufacture and exemplary performance over an extended service life.
The above objects and advantages, as well as further objects and advantages, are attained by the present invention which may be described briefly as a mooring whip mounting base for mounting a mooring whip to a docking structure with the mooring whip moveable selectively between a mooring position, wherein the mooring whip extends outwardly from the docking structure to bias a moored boat away from the docking structure, and a retracted position, wherein the mooring whip extends upwardly and inwardly relative to the mooring position of the mooring whip, the mooring whip having a near end adjacent the docking structure and a far end spaced away from the docking structure, the mooring whip mounting base comprising: a basal member for affixation to the docking structure; a holding member for holding the mooring whip at the near end of the mooring whip; a connecting structure connecting the holding member with the basal member for selective movement of the holding member relative to the basal member between a first position wherein the mooring whip will extend outwardly from the docking structure at a mooring angle to a horizontal direction to be placed in the mooring position, and a second position wherein the mooring whip will extend upwardly at a retracted angle to a vertical direction to be placed in the retracted position; and a positive stop arrangement for limiting movement of the holding member to movement between the first position and the second position, the positive stop arrangement including a first positive stop for engagement upon movement of the holding member from the second position to the first position to preclude movement of the holding member beyond the first position, and a second positive stop for engagement upon movement of the holding member from the first position to the second position to preclude movement of the holding member beyond the second position.